1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system integrated power supplies, and more particularly to an information handling system battery emulation testing system and method.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Portable information handling systems have gained wide acceptance among end users due in part to the increased flexibility that end users gain from portable systems. Portable information handling systems are built in portable housings that allow an end user to readily carry the system and use the system on the go. Increasing capabilities and decreasing sizes of components that are used to build portable information handling systems have provided portable systems comparable in processing power to desktop or other fixed systems. In order to provide portability, portable information handling systems integrate into the portable housing both I/O devices, such as a keyboard and display, and a power source, such as a rechargeable battery. An end user can thus operate the portable information handling system free from any hardwired connections for as long as the battery maintains an adequate charge. When the battery runs out of charge, the end user can continue operating the information handling system by connecting an external power source, such as an AC-to-DC adapter. The external power source also typically recharges the battery.
Although more powerful processing components provide more functionally-capable information handling systems, they also tend to consume more power. Portable information handling systems have a variety of sizes, configurations and components so that different types of batteries are typically needed for different types of systems to meet different discharge rate and charge life requirements. Lithium-based rechargeable batteries tend to be expensive, particularly for portable information systems that have relatively large power consumption. Because batteries tend to lose their ability to hold a charge over time and usage, portable information handling systems typically have a battery cavity that releases the battery to allow replacement. Thus, in addition to the varied charge-life and discharge capabilities needed for different types of information handling systems, portable batteries also have varied types of housings so that the battery housing is compatible with varied types of information handling system housings.
Portable information handling system batteries have evolved into smart subsystems that actively manage interactions with an information handling system. An integrated circuit included in the battery housing communicates with an information handling system through a management bus, such as SMBus. Often, the smart battery and information handling system have to exchange encrypted information before the battery provides or receives a charge in order to confirm that the battery and information handling system are compatible. The many variations in information handling system battery configurations leads to difficulties for manufacture and repair locations, which run tests on portable information handling systems to ensure that a power subsystem properly charges and discharges a battery. One difficulty is that maintaining a large inventory of different types of batteries for inserting into information handling systems during testing is expensive and often wasteful. Batteries deteriorate over time and with usage so that the inventory tends to have a substantial turnover. Disposing of batteries presents environmental difficulties since batteries tend to have potentially dangerous materials. Even shipping batteries can present a difficulty since airplanes are often limited in the number of batteries that they can carry.